Jaws

How many films could be regarded as the career kickstarter of one of the most famous directors ever, while simultaneously creating a blockbuster film? Spielberg’s Jaws focuses on police chief Martin Brody’s strife as a shark attack comes to light in Amity Island, the town where Brody is chief. With the film’s progression, we’re treated to the buildup of the great white’s attack and their frequency. In its final act, Jaw’s evolves a hunt rivaling that of Moby Dick complete with an Ahab-like character that brings the story to its conclusion.

The film, while famous for its achievements, is equally famous for the constant struggle in its production to be completed. The most famous of props, the shark, was unintentionally not working through the majority of production. However, the strength in the film’s elements overcomes these flaws to still deliver a high caliber thriller for the audience. The camera work in particular, mainly the underwater scenes, gives us the first person sense of dread as to the shark’s next victim while it explores Amity Island. It is here that tension’s rise with each scene, and the addition of John Williams’ score brings out the nerves of the viewer. The score is most likely the most famous and most effective aspect of the film itself. Williams uses cellos with explosive build up through the film’s theme. The composition mirrors the sense of dread felt by the ongoing shark attack, and in its exponential rising volume overwhelms the sense as were immersed in to character’s plight. One could argue that the lack of such a score would sacrifice what makes Jaws as original as it is. The writing explores the notion of Man vs. Nature. Though its premise is simple, the exploration of the characters during the attack and subsequently how it affects their lives brings a much more human story than one that the premise suggests.

What could’ve been a simple B-movie thriller under the direction of Steven Spielberg evolved into a much more engaging and rewarding experience to the film medium. Spielberg combines all these elements to effectively create something terrifying and immersive, to the point where its effects were felt outside of the cinema. 

Evil Dead

The recent Evil Dead, directed by Fede Alvarez, follows the story of five friends retreating to a cabin in the woods to cure the main character, Mia, of a heroin addiction. Simultaneously, one of the other friends, Eric, ends up finding a book in the basement along with many mummified cats and evidence of witchcraft. After reading the book aloud, Mia becomes haunted by a demon. Because of the nature of why they are at the cabin, the friends refuse to drive the frightened Mia back to town, thinking that she just wants to get out of her rehabilitation. The demons claim the friends one by one, each one having a more gruesome death than the last.

While the story and characters may not be written to their fullest potential, the film really shines in its production design. The constructed cabin was effective in appearing old and untouched for many years. The film employs little to no CGI. Instead, in its place are highly effective and gruesome make up designs and practical special effects, giving the possessions a very realistic feel. The Naturom Demonto’s fleshy design spells out a deep history of its creation as a tool for demonic possession, and like most of the film’s props, hint towards further backstory to be explored.

For such an inexperienced director, Fede Alvarez utilizes this aspect of the film to his advantage and creates one that relies heavily on its violence and gore effects, but does so beautifully. The effects don’t bog down the film to simple gore porn, but effectively communicate the horror of the character’s situation. Additionally the set itself, the forest and cabin, creates for a very chilling and immersive setting that draws you into the film’s lore. Overall, in large part of its production, the film can be seen as a welcome addition to the legacy of the Evil Dead series. 

Session 9

Few films could say that underdeveloped technology worked to a film’s advantage in its execution. Session 9 however is one of those few. As the first film to use video technology shot at 24 frames per second, Session 9 explores a group of for hire asbestos cleaners inside their job at an abandoned mental asylum. As time passes each character begins to devote their own personal interests into the asylum while tensions begin to grow between one another. Mirroring this aspect of the story is another story that dives into the history of a former patient at the asylum. Through interview tapes discovered by one of the workers, the horror that exists within the walls of the asylum is revealed to us and the mystery that is presented to us is unraveled, enough to leave you pondering the remaining the secrets the asylum may hold.

What may be viewed as Session 9’s biggest crutch, the use of new underdeveloped technology, in reality aids to the raw horror atmosphere of the film. The digital technology employed gives us less of a sense that we’re viewing a typical narrative, but more were gazing into a home video and watching the action unfold. This style is carried throughout the whole film as it immerses the viewer. The atmosphere is also affected highly by the soundtrack employed in the film, while not a typical score, the music’s near ambient textures aid in being a presence through the picture. The soundscapes seemingly stitched together bring a sense of creepiness that’s felt with the insertion of atypical sounds such as the rolling of chains, subtle hints of voices and the disintegration of music into mood pieces.  The story while original, never focuses beyond that of its main protagonist Gordon. However, each individual’s personalities are shown through their actions which in turn help to move the story forward. For example, Hank’s greedy personality eventually leads to his own disappearance, helping to progress the other plot-lines  Lastly, the director’s choice of choosing to shoot in and around an actual abandoned asylum added to the already apparent realism of the film. Much of the production design came from the actual props left in the asylum, including its decrepit walls. This choice, along with the music and camera work, effectively aids in the goal of creating an atmospheric horror film, leaving it as a recognizable standout against the ongoing wave of slasher porn films.

V/H/S 2

V/H/S 2 presents itself as a found footage horror film, combined from four different stories within an overarching story to create an anthology film, with each story exploring a subgenre within horror. The first concerns a wealthy individual whose eye has been surgically replaced with a robotic eye which causes him to view murderous ghosts for the first time. The second puts a twist on the zombie genre by allowing the story to play out from a zombie’s perspective from a recently deceased cyclist. The third story is a supernatural horror film that brings the viewer to the heart of a highly devout cult’s home base wherein all literal hell breaks loose. The final standalone story follows an alien abduction at a sleepover party, appropriately titled "Alien Abduction Slumber Party", and follows the children involved through their attempted escape from abduction.

As to the camera work, each separate short sported a very different technique. The first short, “Clinical Trials” was shot entirely from the perspective of the main character, as if you were viewing it from the camera in his eye. “A Ride in the Park”, the zombie short, utilized many different camera angles to their advantage, including shots from a camera installed on the main character’s bike helmet, and shots from home movies of other civilians. The cult short, “Save Haven”, was shot as if it were an actual camera crew doing interviews. “Alien Abduction Slumber Party” was made to look like a goofy home movie taped by the adolescents in the short.

Some of the shorts were more effective in their direction than others. The most solid of the shorts were “Safe Haven” and “Alien Abduction Slumber Party”. “Safe Haven” utilized the most cuts from different camera perspectives so it helped the audience become more immersed in every character’s story line instead of just one. “Alien Abduction Slumber Party” used the home movie effect to increase the heightened sense of danger. “Clinical Trails” seemed almost gimmick-y and had a lot of shaky camera shots that didn't seem as put together as the other shorts. “A Ride in the Park” gave us new insight into how zombies are portrayed in the first-person shots, which added to the comedy of the piece. As a whole however, the film creates its own significant place in the horror genre as showing what the found footage genre can become.